To YouTube or Not To YouTube, That is the Question...

AND now my boys are suggesting I work more on my YouTube channel - they are impressed with the number of hits and time my un-edited videos are doing. Or are they mocking me?

Truth is I barely like Blogging - I do this for reference on what I did more than writing for an audience. I find using a camera or phone as a camera tedious and distracting for the job at hand.

If I can find a way to automate a process whereby I can generate content and get it easily edited down it might work. Mounts for cameras, autocollect results to the disk, get videos out. Add links to products and further information. Maybe I can find a partner in this (looking at son without a job and a flash new computer...)

Santa Creme Gets A New Wheel, Tire, Cassette/Chainring/Chain Drivetrain, and Meta HT is Back Online!

The final piece - a blue alloy Raceface 30T "cinch" chainring appeared early in the mail on Friday. 

With a ride scheduled for Saturday, I got to work finishing the wheel - tape, valve stem, new 2.30 Minion DHF and sealant all came together quickly. My only mistake was putting the tire on backward (a requirement) but the do-over was quick. No need for the compressor, this tech is getting really good.

I re-used the 180mm Magura rear disk - its a big heavy steel Center Lock version that will outlast me, bolted up the new 10x51 CS7100 12sp cassette and the wheel was done. 

Removal of the Raceface Affect Crankarms was a pain - I had used Red Lock-tite aka the permanent stuff to keep the bolt from unwinding as it likes to do, so much leverage on the 6mm allen wrench was required. An even bigger pain was having to return to the office to get my big breaker 3/8 wrench and bottom bracket attachment so I could remove that 'cinch' bolt on the other side of the old chainring.

Drive to office, grab off desk, and return, off came the bolt. Keeping too many tools at office is a problem, I mean I had 2x of these there. Anyway.

Next step was adding the chain, and shortening it a bit to keep the chain tight enough to avoid sagging/touching the chainstay - It was lose before.

And there it is - shiny new wheel, fresh tire, clean cassette chain and chainring. I even fixed some of the bent pins on the Blue Raceface Chesters.

A pleasant side effect of adding a new rear-wheel to the Santa Creme is gaining an old carbon wheel with a Minion ready to go! I put the old 11 speed 11x46 cassette on, tightened up some bolts, and viola, the Meta HT is back!

Remove the big fender, wash down the winter mud now dust...

Its a bit of a hot rod now - fatty on the back, thin up front. It rides that way too.

Now this drives the next project - build the next light bicycle rim on a 15x100 Chris King or go 15x110 on something new and get a new fork? I paid to get the existing Pike rebuilt, but its not perfect. In theory I can space out a 15x100 to 15x110 but its not a great result either. Best to see how good this Chris King front hub really is - destroying the wheel might be a pitty all by itself.

Light Bicycle RM29C14 + SLX FH-7110-B 12sp Rear Build

 The spokes showed up quickly from Wheelbuilder.com, I skipped a ride and ended up building the wheel instead.

It came together quickly, though my fancy Park Wheel Dishing tool added some distraction.

I bought a valve stem from Wheelbuilder too, still need to add tape, new cassette has shipped and there is a new Minion on the bench looking for a home.

Plan is to replace the Shimano HG hubbed wheel on the Santa Creme, moving it to 11sp duty on the Meta HT. Then we consider rebuilding the 100mm front wheel on the Meta with its nice Chris King hub.

Trying to Use My Own Blog as a Reference for Bike Wheel Building Calcs

So Arg. Call it Covid blues. I finally got it, over 4 years since I last really updated the blog regularly!

Lets blame energy and motivation.

I managed to get another set of Light Bicycle RM29C14's, the big fatties, out of China. I had a 12sp SLX rear hub waiting. I swear I built this wheel before. Or failed to/11speed hub is still on the old Rm29C14.

I am going 12speed microspline SLX, having wasted a few XTs so far. SLX holds up, slightly different design..

Out come the calipers.

Lets use this site, where I referenced it in a photo, but not in a txt format. Todd!

http://prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator

and the numbers:

Rim: Light Bicycle RM29C14

Rim ERD: 574mm

Hub, Rear: Shimano SLX 12sp  FH-M7110-B

Left/Brake side: 278mm

Right/Cassette side Spokes 276.4mm

AND a second opinion, since it looks like I will use DT Swiss Competition Race Double Butted Spokes w 12mm Silver Brass 

Return of Hi Ho Silver

New NX, newish 120 Fox Factory, new XT BR-M8100 brakes, original Intense 28h, Nukeproof bars from Meta HT - in fact took the wheel from there so need to rebuild it too.

Irregular Maintenance, Irregular Blogging

So it turns out I need to record when I do things to know when I need to do them BEFORE they break. 

As my shoulder heals, and the rains wain, I have had 2 ride-ending mechanicals on the rare non-rainy weekend rides.

The first was a leaky tire - not a big deal I assumed accept the traditional fallback of putting in a tube failed, 3 times and through 2 pumps before I got left behind at Muir Beach to get picked up later by Taco. The lesson here is tubes are not the backup they used to be - I have not had a flat fixed by a tube in many years, and these rims NEVER had a tube in use. 

The second mechanical was a broken shift cable conveniently at the end of the first climb up Annadel - no spare, but a bike shop at the Trail House, so in the biggest gear I went on down to get a cable. And a mechanic, who found a trickier extraction than I could have managed (the break was at the very end of the cable). In conversation and inspection with the mechanic, he found a broken spoke(!), other loose spokes, worn chain and cassette, and housing should be replaced. I paid $54 for the cable and quick wheel tune, and was able to intercept buddies, but I missed out on the lovely Lawndale decent.

How to avoid this/these situations? Regular maintenance of course. Failing to blog means I have no record of when I last did stuff to the bikes in the fleet. Santa Cremes wheels were last done 3 or 4? years ago, its been the big-day-bike and kept clean vs the Meta.

An extension to Strava would make record keeping really nice for maintenance - add a part, start a timer, use Strava data to log times/call out alarms. Monetization would be simple, maybe could be a platform to track any and everything with regular maintenance requirements.

So what is new?

• shoulder is getting stronger, so fitness is improving on Strava - 40 in Dec to 65 this weekend
• weather has been wet, rides muddy and lots of hose-action
• full mudhuggers on the Meta = rain bike. Back on the 140mm non-boost Pike with Ernst wheel up front. Needs a better front tire, rebuilding the wheel on that Pink Chris King is in the cards.
• Peak Bike has a silly sticker. I'll get a picture posted. Its been a good psych experiment to see who notices (DS) and who is clueless to the bad-branding (GN, JC)
• Goals?
• Boggs
• afraid of racing otherwise
• Sea Otter - 25miles to 50 and 50 was moved to 70+ - JC is fired up
• Wente - represents the start of my Spiral last summer. Missing it anyway due to BHS graduation
• 
  

Hacking the Newest Ride of the Fleet - Wahoo Kickr V1 2014

 Craiglist got me again. Picked up a Wahoo Kickr V1 2014 after borrowing TO's V4 - there is a bigger difference than 3 between these models, namely Wahoo wants nothing to do with the V1 apparently.

I have been spending a lot of time not on a real bike, in Zwiftland, getting soft and fighting depression. Healing I guess, missing yet another big chunk of my life as if was Covid2.

Check before the CL purchase, Todd. This happened with the Faraday too, I tend to jump at pretty, though dead, technology.

The V1 "works" but way undereports power. Wahoo let me know the firmware won't be updated by them at least, then confirmed hardware is broken if the speed is not reporting

After way to much obsessing and searching and even joining Reddit and Discord to find info, I got out the tools to find the PCB board. It turns out there are 2 - the power controller one is opposite the heavy flywheel, the "brains" were hiding all along up near the optical sensor near the top axle.

A video on YouTube is here that gets one to the boards fast: Wahoo Kickr V1 PCB Board Location, Removal and Survey

Some stills are below, and I will start inventorying the chips and parts.

I am thinking it would be most interesting to use an Arduino or Raspberry Pi to replace the "brain", maybe skip the optical board altogether.